The Healthy Cowboy Kitchen

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Imagine its 10pm and you and some good friends are relaxing outside on your patio, enjoying a glass of wine after a great dinner. You faintly hear the sound of a small plane overhead but don’t think much of it. You may not smell or see anything but that plane just crop-dusted your neighborhood with pesticides.

With the intention of NOT warning us of when this spraying will take place, that is exactly what Orange County Vector Control is planning for our cities. As it stands right now they are under no obligation to warn us of their plans. This is outrageous.

Orange County Vector Control (OCVC) has deemed it necessary to conduct aerial spraying of the pesticide “Duet” to try and control the mosquito population of nine OC cities and counting. Their claim is that West Nile Virus is on the rise and these measures must be taken.

This drastic measure is scary - things must be really serious! Actually, not according to the numbers. The number of people that have been infected by WNV has plummeted. In 2014 there were a total of nine fatalities linked with WNV. As you can see by the below information taken directly from the OCVC and OC Public Health Care Agency there have only been a total of threecases of WNV in 2016 - two of which were asymptomatic - meaning the infected people didn’t even have symptoms!

Less than 1% of people that actually contract the disease have serious health issues because of it.

2016 Reported West Nile Virus Infections in Orange County (Infections by Type)(as of 8/16/2016)

Gender

Age Group

Disease Type

TotalCases

Male

Female

<18 span="">18>

18 - 49

50 - 64

≥ 65

West Nile Neuroinvasive Disease

1

1

1

West Nile Fever

2

Asymptomatic

2

2

Classification Pending

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Total Infections

3

0

3

0

0

3

0

Total Deaths

0

Despite the lack of dead bodies and West Nile Zombies filling our local streets, OCVC wants to spray. Think about your organic gardens …outside furniture …children’s playgrounds …pets …anyone walking outside at the time of spraying …our honey bee population (that is affected by the pesticide Duet and is said to possibly have a role in Colony Collapse Disorder source) …do you sleep with your windows open at night? How would your home and yard be affected? As of this writing I just read that topical applications of mosquito pesticides are being applied today (Aug 17th) in all the public parks in my city of Orange.

These outrageous actions aren't new.

In 2007, Monterey, California had its own aerial spraying problem when the State and the US Department of Agriculture decided to use aerial spraying of pesticides to try to eradicate the brown apple moth for fear that it may destroy local crops. This led to substantial public controversy and over 600 claims of adverse health effects. Aerial spraying was discontinued in 2008 after a year of the public fighting for their right to be notified and for the departments to stop spraying surrounding cities. There was no known reported damage to any crops from the moth before or since the spraying (source).

But it’s a safe pesticide, right?

Although the EPA claims that the pesticide Duet is not harmful to humans in lower doses, many claim that is not the case. Duet is a synthetic pyrethroid and can have negative health effects:

being a known carcinogen

liver damage

affects thyroid function

causes chromosomal abnormalities in small mammals

highly toxic to insects, fish and birds

mimics estrogen, leading to estrogenic dominant health problems in females and feminizing effects in makes, including lower sperm counts and abnormal breast development

sub lethal doses have produced a wide array of abnormal behaviors, including aggression, disruption in learning and learned behaviors (source)

The question to ask is how many times are they going to spray? Why do other states (such as New York) ask that the public stay inside during spray hours but we are told that it’s okay to leave our windows open …our pet’s food bowls out? What about mosquitoes that are dormant at night and come out biting during the day? They won’t be killed by the pesticide so it seems like aerial night spraying is not the ultimate solution to the problem.

It is suggested by the OCVC that we take steps to prevent mosquito bites:

•Eliminate any standing water around your house.

•Make sure all window and door screens on your house are in good repair.

What we need to do is get the word out quickly that this is going on in our own backyards. Spraying decision are going to be made shortly by the district members. Can you take 5 minutes and email your friends and family that live in Orange County about the OCVC plan to spray us with pesticides? Do you know anyone that has access to a lot of OC residents like doctors, business owners, or local newspaper or magazine writers? If this is important to you please help spread the word - our health is worth a little time!

If you would like to contact the Orange County Vector Control District office to voice your opinion here is the info:

(714) 971-2421 or (949) 654-2421

ocvcd@ocvcd.org

Better yet, for those that read this message quickly there is a Board of Trustees meeting at the OCVC office in Garden Grove this Thursday (Aug 18th, 2016) at 3pm. Get there at least 10 minutes early if you’d like to speak to this panel that will be deciding whether or not to spray our OC cities. I’ll see you there!

Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District

13001 Garden Grove Boulevard

Garden Grove, CA 92843-2102

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Meet my new friend Nicole Hellendoorn. She's the owner of California Paleo Kitchens, a Orange County delivery service that specializes in making meals that are not only deliciously healthy but beautiful as well.

We know that there is a lot of time, work and money involved in eating a real food diet. Things get especially hard when there's a food allergy and once loved ingredients are no longer in your fridge's ingredient line-up. There have been many nights when the thought of having to come up with something gluten-free AND dairy free for my family has been daunting after a long day at work - or just a long day period. Imagine you're having one of those evenings (or mornings or afternoons!) and you get this in your inbox...

Hallelujah. Each meal is meticulously prepared with fresh, organic, whole ingredients by Nicole and her experienced chefs in a designated gluten-free kitchen. The food is always gluten, grain, soy, dairy and refined sugar free. Not only that but she can also tailor make your meals upon request to accommodate your specific allergy.

These meals are designed to be delicious, seasonal, colorful, health-promoting and FUN. As Nicole says, "if you don't love what your eating, what's the point?"Ordering is simple and quick. She emails a menu every Tuesday at 12pm and you have a few days to place your order. The payment part of things is built in so everything is taken care of right then and there. The following Monday your order is delivered to your door or you also have the option of picking it up at one of three locations - Santa Ana, Laguna Beach or Lake Forest. Let's envision how this makes life better. Your tired. The last thing you want to do is put junk into your body so getting something from a fast-food joint is out of the question. You don't want to cook - or do dishes. You open the fridge and see a stack of prepared meals. A "Strawberry Fields" chicken salad, Indonesian Curry, roasted chicken and even a sweet little treat for later - all ready to go. Have mercy. Your day just got a whole lot better. You can sign-up to receive California Paleo Kitchen's menu each week here. Have you ever wished you had someone like Nicole in your own kitchen - preparing you meals for the week? Done. She can do that too. Private chef menus are completely customized to suit your palate, allergies and preferences. Meals are prepared in your kitchen or hers, to suit your every whim. It's also great for larger families, those with specific allergen issues or health concerns, or for anyone who wants to treat themselves to a full fridge and a spotless kitchen (the thought of that almost brings tears of joy to my eyes). Want to give someone an amazing gift? How about a week of not having to cook or do dishes?!

Maybe you're just beginning your real food journey and need some help navigating it all. Nicole can assist you with that too. With coaching, you work with her one on one to identify what's keeping you from your healthiest diet and where to make adjustments. She will also teach you how to meal prep and help you stay accountable. You can learn more about these services here. With so much to do in life, it's nice to know there's someone out there that can cover you when it comes to taking care of your diet. I'm so grateful there's a service like California Paleo Kitchens in our neighborhood that gives us the option and the pleasure of receiving healthy food right on our doorsteps. I encourage you to order some of Nicole's food this week and experience it for yourself. You deserve a great meal and a little break ;)Sign-up for the menu here.Check out her website for more details. Warmly, Katie

Monday, March 28, 2016

It’s been a long time and I hope everyone is doing well. Food prices rarely if ever go down! You are well aware that eating real food can get reallyexpensive. I did some research that proved very surprising and helpful so I decided to pass it along and hope you might benefit from it as well. I wish I had heard about the following a long time ago, especially when I was buying in bulk for business. This post may sound a little "sales-y" but I am genuinely very excited about this discovery for us.

There’s a website called Thrive Market I came across the other day. If you’re buying organic, gluten-free, Paleo or for any special diet I would highly recommend checking them out. I’m saving a chunk of money shopping on their site and although I love Whole Foods and Mother's for their selection and produce, I get more and more excited about Thrive the more I explore it. They're also a great company that gives back - giving a free memberships to low-income families.

Think of it as the “Costco” of real food.

I did a comparison and took seven items that I buy on a regular basis. Using our local Orange County go-to stores for healthier food - Whole Foods and Mother’s Market - I headed out and got pricing from each to compare with Thrive’s pricing. I wanted to see if the membership fee was really worth it ($59 a year/ or $5 per month). Here are the results:

As you can see this company really can save us money each month on our favorite real foods.

Is the annual membership fee worth it?

There would need to be a savings of $5 a month to cover it. If I only purchased two Paleo Wraps and one spaghetti a month I’m saving over $6, which pays for the membership plus.Not only that but since I've been signed-up I also get offers for free products every week. And these freebies aren't your average little granola bar but things like a 16 ounce organic coconut oil and natural deodorants.

A few other benefits:

shipping is free for orders over $49

100% of their food is GMO-free

prices are 25% - 50% below retail

they give a free membership to low-income families with every paid membership

You can clickhere or any of the other highlighted links to go to the site and see if your favorite products are carried at Thrive.

I hope you found this little recommendation worth your time and that this e-mail finds you all well. I miss seeing your faces and hope to run into you soon!

Below is the recipe for Healthy Cowboy Kitchen Raw Coconut Fudge.Everyingredient can be purchased on the Thrive Market website. Go take advantage of that 15% off and 30 day free trial! Enjoy and I’ll be in touch.

Warmly,

KatieUpdate 8/2016: So far I have saved over $350 shopping through Thrive Market instead of grocery stores - definitely worth the $59 annual fee to join!

HCK Raw Coconut Fudge (Original Vanilla)

Ingredients

2 cups raw coconut butter (softened)

1 cup raw virgin coconut oil (softened)

1 3/4 cups of shredded coconut (unsweetened)

1 cup raw honey (softened)

1 vanilla bean, seeded

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt

zest of 1 small lemon

Directions

Make sure the coconut butter, coconut oil and honey are softened or slightly warmed. You can do this by setting them out in the sun for a little while or gently warming them on the stove.

Combine the first four ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix gently with a hand-mixer or spatula.

When well mixed, add the vanilla bean seeds, vanilla extract, salt and lemon zest. Stir until well combined.

Add in the shredded coconut and mix together well.

At this point you can either put your “batter” in silicon candy moulds or spread it on a parchment-lined sheet tray/cookie sheet. Either one you choose, place it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. The fudge will harden and you can either pop it out of the moulds or cut your tray slab into chunks using a knife.

Store in an air-tight container in the fridge (up to two months) or freezer (up to eight months).

Enjoy!

p.s. - this post contains affiliate links. At no additional expense to you or others, I receive a small commission from Thrive market when someone signs up through this article. I only recommend companies that I believe in, use myself, and truly feel are a value to my readers and customers.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

I sell healthy food and half of it
is raw and vegan. That's because some of those foods are healthy,
but there's a whole other side to healthy nutrition - the kind that makes a
person thrive - and thrive for a lifetime. I've been asked to explain why I'm
not a "veggie." So here are the top reasons why I've made my choice
and why I'd like you to consider staying (or becoming) an omnivore. 1. I found the difference between a
"cleanse" and a life-long decision

Vegetables and other healthy-for-us
plants are detoxifiers. They help our bodies cleanse and release toxins. They
make us feel lighter and are part of a balanced and healthy diet. Has
anyone out there ever done a cleanse? My longest cleanse was for four weeks. I
lost weight, felt good in some ways, but was counting the days until it was
over. The way I was eating on the cleanse wasn't sustainable. I had to eat
every hour or my blood sugar and energy level dropped because it was low in
fat. I also got really tired of the same limited foods to choose from. I knew
it was temporary and that in a short time I was able to go back to eating my
regular diet (which was pretty healthy already). That being said, I can imagine
what doing that four week cleanse would of felt like I had come from a diet
full of (or that even included a few of the following): caffeine,
soda, prescription drugs, fast food, non-organic produce, factory-raised
animals, pasteurized/homogenized dairy products and heavy grains and sugars.
This "red meat/dairy-free/low-sugar" cleanse may have seemed like a
whole new energy-filled, lighter and all around better diet. And yes, maybe it
was something to be adopted long-term, possibly for a lifetime. But would that be the right decision for my health?
When I eat "vegan" my body cries out for more sustenance.

2. Detoxifying and rebuilding - I (all
of us) need both

A healthy body needs detoxifying
foods (or foods that help it detox itself) to be healthy, but that's just part
of a very important equation. We also need to rebuild and repair.
Veggies are the "hoses" of detox while animal proteins and fats are
the "bricks" that put us back together. You can cleanse away junk all
you want but if you don't have the proper materials to rebuild your body day to
day then a physical breakdown is going to occur - and it will show itself in
one way or another. If I'm going to build a new home I
want to use the best materials available - animal proteins are just what the
human body has ordered because of their complete amino acid profile and
nutrient density. For example, kale is
nutrient dense when compared to Iceburg lettuce but not compared to grass-fed
beef or eggs from pastured chickens. To get the same amount of complete protein
that is in eggs or pastured beef by eating a combo of vegetarian foods you'd
have to eat a lot - and I'm talking, for example, a few pounds of beans and corn a day. I love Mexican food- but not that much. So I'm stickin' with animal
protein.

﻿

"The film that can save your life??"

3. Forks Over Knives - nobody talks
bad about my cheese

I couldn't wait to see this movie. I
had seen other documentaries promoting healthy eating and I was a
health-knowledge sponge waiting for another soak. The film ended and I found
myself full of anxiety at the thought of cutting-out all dairy and severely
cutting-back on meat consumption. After all, the evidence in the movie
'proved': meat and dairy cause disease - to be healthy and to avoid
disease a plant-based diet wasessential. I knew that I would never be
vegetarian but figured I could cut out dairy with rare exception and only eat
meat once a week. That seemed like an okay compromise, but my gut said,
"that ain't right." Biblical Proverb: "The first to present
his case seems right, until another comes forth to question him."
Enter Denise Minger. The witty, independent researcher (and ex-vegan) with a
little too much time on her statistic-lovin' hands. I found her blog, Raw Food SOS,
when my guts led me to a Google search for
"China Study criticisms." I wanted to double-check a few things I had
heard in the film and ended up with a goldmine of info to read. Her analysis of
Forks Over Knives is really long - as is her critique of the China Study
itself. Both are must-reads, especially if you (or your loved-ones) are
considering a veggie lifestyle. I've broken down some key points for those that
don't want to read her critique right now but please make some time for both in
the future.

Here is Denise's critique a la cart
(or as short as I can get it ...if you don't want to read this now skip to number four below, next to the picture of pills):

·Her background: 8 yrs. as a vegetarian, 1 year as vegan, 1
year as raw vegan ...until: her hair started falling out, she had no muscle
mass, and after a lifetime of perfect dental health found out she had 16
cavities (malnutrition ??)

·Denise took three months to analyze the data in the
published research of the entire China Study (called "Diet, Lifestyle and
Mortality"). The actual book named, "The China Study," was just
Dr. Campbell's findings - not the whole actual study itself

·Her findings are richly based on the premise that "correlation
does not mean causation" For example, just because people who eat more
fish are more likely to drown - it doesn't mean that eating fish specifically
causes people to drown. It could be from many variables such as "people
that own boats like to drink more alcohol and tend to be more irresponsible on
the water" ...or that "people who tend to eat fish also were not
exposed to swimming lessons early in life." You get my drift.

Using Dr. Campbell's (the author of The China Study; main doctor featured in
Forks Over Knives)own research she found that:

·animal protein is not associated with higher rates of
disease in the study because there are no direct links pointing to that
conclusion

·meat, egg and dairy protein had no statistically significant
correlations - in fact they had a negative (or no) association with most cancers

·fish was somewhat associated with some cancer, namely, liver
- (and here's one example of where "correlation does not equal
causation") – because these same people who ate more fish were also in regions
that were more industrialized, had higher alcohol/tabacco consumption, more
processed food consumption, less agriculture and had higher instances of
aflatoxin (a mold that is a carcinogen thatcanlead to liver
cancer)

·plant protein had more positive correlations with
cancer (namely, colon and leukemia)

·Campbell tried to correlate animal fat and breast cancer but
the women had a 50/50 ratio of animal fat to vegetable oil consumption -
instead of acknowledging that either of the two or perhaps the latter could
cause the higher breast cancer rates, Campbell solely blamed animal fat but
ignored the impact from highly processed and inflammatory vegetable oils

·plant protein
had a positive correlation with HD (yet Dr. C never mentions that in the
book)

·wheat flour (which is high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty
acids) had the strongest positive correlation with HD. After finding
this in the data, Denise actually tested and re-tested her findings just to
make sure this BIG piece of info was correct. She claims that this is the most
interesting piece of data found in the whole China Study (makes me a little
relieved to be gluten-free) ...yet Campbell didn't care to say anything about
it. Hmm. ·an earlier paper co-authored by Campbell found there
to be no correlation between HD and cholesterol yet that's not
what he claims in The China Study book. Hmm, again.

More findings ("Hmmms") :

·the China Study book was never peer-reviewed·respected researcher Walter Willett said, concerning the
China Study data, that there was no clear correlation between animal product
consumption and the risk of HD or major cancers·another paper co-authored by Campbell found that China Study
women that consumed dairy calcium had much stronger bones than those that ate
plant-based calcium, yet he stated in the China Study book that dairy leaches
the calcium out of your bones and that you shouldn't consume it - that is the
opposite of what his paper's data showed

The ratsDr. C. claimed that he could turn cancer "off and
on" by raising and lowering the amount of casein (a form of milk protein)
ingested by lab rats that had been exposed to a super-high dose aflatoxin (the
mold that can cause liver cancer). The rats that consumed higher amounts of
milk protein (20%) got liver lesions and the rats that ate less milk protein
(5%) had very few lesions. Dr. C. concluded that it must be the higher
consumption of animal protein that leads to cancer, based on these findings.

The issues according to Denise's
research:

·Campbell took one animal protein (isolated casein) and had
it represent allanimal protein in his conclusions (my note:
notice the protein was in its isolated form - like those found in
protein powders, not in their naturally occurring, whole food form, which is
totally different and comes with its own synergistic system of vitamins, other
forms of proteins, enzymes, etc. to help our bodies utilize it properly. Therefore
if his research proved correct it would only be beneficial to those that
consumed such isolated proteins)·he also tested plant-based protein (soy, gluten) in the same
way and found that even at the higher (20%) consumption rate cancer could not
be "turned on" - but when he replaced the missing amino acids in the
proteins to make them complete (like in animal proteins) he found that the
cancer lesions appeared (at this point it seems like they've got us carnivores-
but just wait...). So, we can conclude "complete proteins" (as in,
when a vegetarian eats beans and corn to get a complete protein or regular
animal protein) seem to behave this way in the study ·the aflatoxin dose was extremely high, as in, it would take
you eating 80,000 jars of peanut butter, in one sitting, to be
exposed to the dose that the rats received

So here it seems that if you make
sure never to eat complete proteins (either through animal consumption or
combining vegetarian foods) AND if you make sure never to eat 80,000 jars of
peanut butter in one sitting, you won't "turn on" cancer.

We move on to monkeys.Interestingly enough, Dr. Campbell did similar research
with monkeys years ago but instead used a realistic dose of afflotoxin which
would mimic a real-life situation. He found (but never cared to mention it
in the China Study or Forks Over Knives) that:

·the monkeys that were given the 20% casein dose retained
their health for a long time·the monkeys that were given the 5% casein dose either died
early or got cancer quickly

This is exactly the opposite result
of the rat research findings but using a much more realistic scenario such as
"I'm only going to eat one or two peanut butter sandwiches today."
The studies show that the amount of complete protein consumed doesn't
"turn on" cancer as described by Campbell, but the amount of aflatoxin
exposure does. In fact, as the monkeys showed, higher rates of protein
consumption actually kept the monkeys healthier than their
low-protein counterparts. For further study you can check out this article by Chris Masterjohn as well. It shows how in early
rat studies using the same protocols Campbell did in his own, most of the low
protein rats also didn't get as many tumors as the higher protein rats - but
instead actually died rather quickly. Hmmm, hmm, hmmmmmmmm.

Denise's conclusions:

·Dr. Campbell has cherry-picked data to find what he thought
he saw in the Philippines (he saw higher animal protein-eating people getting
more liver cancer and deduced it was the animal protein to blame

·Campbell misrepresented his rat research

·correlation does not always equal causation but is totally
relied upon in both the book and the movie

·other pro-vegan/vegetarian research papers don't take into
account that people that choose those diets also tend to make better health
choices in other areas besides not eating animals (ex: exercising more, not
smoking, decreasing stress, yoga anyone?) and there is no study yet that simply
compares making only the switch from meat to no-meat. Until there is, there
is no way that one can say that a plant-based diet is healthier

If you think that was long you
should read the actual articles - but they are worth it and she's funny so they
go quick. Here they are:

My conclusions:Question everything
(including me). Just because someone makes a movie, or writes a book (or a blog
post) doesn't mean it's correct. Do your own research and come up with your own
conclusions. Above all, listen to your own body.

...and let's not forget conspiracy theorist's conclusions: Campbell is part of a group of people that wants to
reduce the population of the earth by promoting diets that can lead to
malnutrition and infertility. ...or he's part of The Vegan Mafia. ...both of these would
make more sense than his findings ;)

Body no likey.

4. With so many supplements
...something smells fishy (or fish stick-shaped tofu-y, if you prefer).There's something not quite right
about a diet that needs such high supplementation in order for the human body
to keep functioning right. Here is a breakdown of some of the diet
supplementation you'll need (or will be missing out on) if you're going the
veggie route. And you thought you'd save money not buying all that meat and
fish?? **Keep in-mind that all these nutrients are found abundantly
in animal foods and are readily available and used efficiently in our bodies in
their natural forms **

iron - take note that the isolated kind found in
enriched/fortified products can be toxic in our bodies.

vitamin D - unless you are in noon-day sun every day, we all need
this one, but especially "veggies."

omega 3 Fatty Acids - unfortunately if you’re taking flax seed oil or relying
on nuts as your veg-based sources of DHA and EPA only about 10% of those
get converted and used correctly in the body. That's something to be concerned about
since most vegans eat a lot of Omega 6-rich grains to fill up. Improper
balance of omega 3 and omega 6 is a major cause of inflammation which can lead
to modern diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease - as the data in The
China Study research showed, but its author failed to mention in the namesake book).

B12 - contrary to popular vegan belief, you cannot get the
right type of B12 from algae - you need methocobalamin, which is the only
active form of B12. Long-term B12 deficiency is very hard to recover from and
may leave lasting damages so be careful.

zinc - zinc and copper go together like peas and carrots. Vegans
frequently have an abundance of copper not balanced by zinc.

calcium - when eating plant-based calcium, fat needs to be present
- don't skimp on dressing when eating those greens.

vitamin A - another myth is that vegetables like carrots can supply
all the vitamin A that we need - not so. Very little beta carotene (plant-based
vit. A) is correctly converted in the body. Beta carotene is only the "pre-cursor"
of real vitamin A. In animal sources whole vitamin A is pre-formed and absorbed normally,
but in plant sources it needs a special enzyme (that not everyone can make)
to be converted into usability.

amino acids like cystine, taurine,
CoQ10, carnatine, methionine
...animal foods supply complete proteins (having a complete amino acid
profile), plant sources do not so they must be combined at meals to make up
what's missing - like eating beans and corn. Don't rely on soy protein to help
you get your dose of cystine - it contains trypsin inhibitors that bind it up,
making it useless in the body.

cholesterol - this could be its own long blog article but for time’s
sake I'll just say this: cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease and does
not collect and clog our arteries because you eat saturated fat. It is an
essential substance that our bodies need to perform incredibly important
tasks like hormone regulation and immune system functioning (among many, many more). High cholesterol is caused by inflammation - think of free radicals (from
processed foods and other harmful ditties that make it into our body) swimming
through your bloodstream armed with knives. They cause damage to the walls of
our circulatory system. To buffer this damage the body sends in cholesterol –
it’s the band-aid. I think the
perfect metaphor (and I believe I heard it from this filmed lecture (notes here)) is this: if every time you showed up to a
burning house you found firemen, you may think that they were the ones causing
the fires. BUT we know that the firemen are there to help and the real cause is
something else. That's the bad wrap that industries (namely: medical,
pharmaceutical, vegetable oil) have given cholesterol and unfortunately many
people are very sick because of it. We should be looking for what is causing
inflammation in our bodies - not trying to eliminate invaluable cholesterol
which is just the bodies healing response to damage.

I'm not big on supplements although I
know our modern world (with its depleted soils and high-stress lives) calls for
a little help here and there. But concerning that list up there? That ain't
right.

5. A pesky little Canadian dentist
and his quest for the perfect smile

I'd like to introduce you to Weston
A. Price. A dentist (in the earlier part of the 1900's) that had a curiosity
and deep concern about where all these new cavities and malformed teeth were
coming from. He set out with a mission:
go around the world studying people groups (that were untouched by modern
diets) and find out the ultimate healthy diet for both body and teeth.
He was actually hoping the winner would be a vegetarian-based diet. What he did
find was that the most healthy, strong, robust, fertile, happy, well-behaved,
disease-free (and disease-resistant) people all had a few things in
common - and it wasn't kale. It was sticking to their traditional diets that
were rich in animal foods like organ meats, fats, fermented grains and
vegetables (and livers!), and raw (plus cultured) dairy from grass-fed cows and
other ruminants. They all consumed cooked food in various forms and did NOT eat
refined or denatured foods (like vegetable oil and isolated protein powders).
This makes sense to me. I know not every single diet is perfect in all ways but
this one has long-term evidence for being the good way to go for optimal
health. I haven't heard of any vegan cultures that survived throughout
generations AND had robust health, fertility, and strength. If you have, let me
know and I'll study it further.

6. Bow Shikka Bown Bown (sp?)

The vegetarian movement was started
by Sylvester Graham - not for health reasons - but for moral. Only he wasn't
trying to save animals from being killed, he was trying to curb lust in humans
by forming the low-fat/high fiber diet that is known to decrease libido.
Another symptom of mal-nutrition that vegans often face sadly is infertility.
I don't want to mess with either. If you are a veggie and are thinking about
getting pregnant or are pregnant, please consider reading these suggestions here. Those little babies need good building blocks to grow strong and healthy.

I saw a ton of
movies and read numerous books while I was trying to find the perfect diet that
would heal my dad's cancer. A lot of them said that a "plant-based"
diet was key. Sure, maybe for someone that had stage one "easy to
beat" cancer that was in-need of a detox, but there is not "one diet
that heals all" for disease as these films and books in my opinion mislead
us to believe. I saw my dad waste away because 1. the cancer was stealing the nutrients he was eating and 2. he wasn't getting enough nutrients because his diet was 99% plant-based - and plants don't give us enough nutrients to thrive on. If I had to do it all over again I would have my dad go vegan
for maybe a few weeks - to starve his cancer of nutrients and detox, and
then we would rebuild his body with nourishing foods like bone broths, cultured
veggies and liver while throwing in some stronger alternative treatments.
Speaking of liver, did you know the Gerson diet, the
plant-based juicing protocol for healing cancer and other disease, originally
included juiced raw liver as part of its diet protocol? Why don't we
hear about that much?

8. I don't think my hamburger is bad
for the environment

I admit that this is the part where
my knowledge is second-hand. I haven't read these books (The Vegetarian Myth and Holistic Management) but have heard ample info
from them. The long and short of it is that properly raised, pastured animals
actually heal the planet and create the kind of ecosystem that makes
beautiful pictures, happy animals and healthy people. Don't believe me? Read
the books. I will too. (:

﻿

yumyumyumyumyum...

9. I make a prize-winning chili and
it's just not the same with tofu

I simply like the taste of animal
foods and if I can get them organic, sustainable, properly-raised and/or happy
before they passed... I welcome you: bacon, cheese, honey, milkshakes, cheeseburgers,
chicken soup, butter, cream, steak fajitas, give me a quiche, blackened chicken
alfredo...

Compare to: raw kale salad, tofu (bad, bad), beet juice, something
that sounds like Satan (seitan?), everything resembling cream having to be made
with nuts or cauliflower, a lifetime of beans and rice (which are not bad when
cooked in lard and broth), algae, lots o' vitamins, protein shakes...

I will stubbornly accept no rebuttals
on that one. Bacon always wins. And for the Jews and Muslims: ice cream always
wins.

10. God described the 'Promised
Land' as a land flowing with "milk and honey" ...and I don't think
God's a tease

﻿

Fish and chips anyone?

For those that believe that the
bible is the inspired word of God (and for the skeptics I recommend starting with this dude), why would He describe the
"Promised Land" as flowing with these two vegan "no nos" if
they couldn't partake or make use of what was described? To me, this is at
least a case against veganism from a biblical perspective. If it's good enough
for the Creator - it's good enough for me....and Jesus loved fish (as in,
serving a lot of them for dinner)

11. I do not worship animals as
being higher than myself

If it were possible for human health
to thrive without having to kill animals I'd probably join the
"veggies" in a heartbeat, but I don't believe that that's the case.
We messed up this crazy world and I don't know if God intended all of us to be
vegetarian in the garden of Eden, but we don't live there and it doesn't exist
anymore. Unfortunately, animals (and people) die. I make sure that
the animals I eat had a healthy, happy and natural life and I do think factory
farming is an abomination. If we were the only mammals on earth that kill other
living things for food I would probably question being a carnivore - but the
food chain is a part of the cycle of life - that chain is full of death so that
others may live. So if "Bob, the cow" lived a great few years on
green pastures and my body (and other's) need its nourishing meat - Bob's
toast. Well, technically ...steak. If I can responsibly collect honey from bees, I'm eating it. If a cow has healthy, nutrient-dense milk - I'm drinking it with an occasional Oreo (which in my opinion is one of the most unhealthy, yet mysteriously tasty creations on earth).

In being able to savor and be
healthy from all of these animal foods I am extremely thankful.

A few statements just to save time:

·I don't receive any money for eating meat and talking about it (that would be nice, though) - nor by the links to Amazon I
included

·I know that there are rare exceptions of long term healthy
vegetarians (that eat eggs and dairy)

I think Denise said it well when she wrote thisto the 'veggie' crowd. It's a nice article. I promise.

To leave things on a fun note, here's a short article I thought was cute.Here's to chili (: